S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

F A C U L T Y

Welcome - Opening Statement John Burgess

John N. Woodhull Professor of Philosophy Princeton University

Representative Departmental

Announcement of Honors

Presentation of Prizes

Tomb Prize

Dickinson Prize

John Martyn Warbeke 1903 Prize in Aesthetics

John Martyn Warbeke 1903 Prize in Metaphysics and Epistemology

Class of 1869 Prize in Ethics

Alexander Guthrie McCosh Prize

Presentation of Books

Refreshments

WELCOMEF A C U L T Y

Welcome - Opening Statement John Burgess

John N. Woodhull Professor of Philosophy Princeton University

Representative Departmental

Announcement of Honors

Presentation of Prizes

Tomb Prize

Dickinson Prize

John Martyn Warbeke 1903 Prize in Aesthetics

John Martyn Warbeke 1903 Prize in Metaphysics and Epistemology

Class of 1869 Prize in Ethics

Alexander Guthrie McCosh Prize

Presentation of Books

Refreshments

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

GraduatinG CLass Of 2014

Nicolas Apter-VidlerMatthew Alexander Brailas

Claire Covell BranchKatrina Marie BushkoAhsen Nimet CebeciJoseph Patrick Cloud

Sophia Yi DengJoseph Dean DeQuinzio

Amy Tirrell EllingtonShiyao Gu

David Matthew HammerLaura Ann Hildebrand Benjamin Charles Jubas

Jun James Morley KuromiyaSuchita S. Mandavilli

Horace Phillips McNeal IIIConnor Philip Mui

Ryan Christian PoladianDaisy Hannah Radevsky

Jonathan Joseph SchwartzThomas Joseph Sedeski

Max Harris SiegelBenjamin Robert TaubJacob Daniel Tempchin

Evan Browning ThompsonMark Hamilton Watter

David J. Zheng

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S F a c u l t y

Chair Michael A. Smith

Departmental Representative John P. Burgess

Director of Graduate Studiies Gilbert H. Harman

Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah,

also University Center for Human Values John P. Burgess John M. Cooper

Adam Newman Elga Delia Graff Fara

Daniel Garber Hans Halvorson

Gilbert H. Harman Mark Johnston

Thomas P. Kelly Alexander Nehamas, also Council of the Humanities, Comparative

Literature Gideon A. Rosen Michael A. Smith

Visiting Professor John Hawthorne

Associate Professor Elizabeth Harman, also University Center for Human Values

Desmond Hogan Hendrik Lorenz

Benjamin C. A. Morison Assistant Professor

Shamik Dasgupta Boris C. Kment Sarah-Jane Leslie Sarah E. McGrath

Lecturer with Rank of Professor Frank C. Jackson

Lecturer Daniel Cloud

Victoria McGeer

Chair Michael A. Smith

Departmental Representative John P. Burgess

Director of Graduate Studies Gilbert H. Harman

Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah,

also University Center for Human Values John P. Burgess

John M. Cooper Adam Newman Elga

Delia Graff Fara Daniel Garber

Hans Halvorson Gilbert H. Harman

Mark Johnston Thomas P. KellySarah-Jane LeslieHendrick Lorenz

Benjamin MorisonAlexander Nehamas,

also Council of the Humanities, Comparative LiteratureGideon A. Rosen Michael A. Smith

faCuLty

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S F a c u l t y

Chair Michael A. Smith

Departmental Representative John P. Burgess

Director of Graduate Studiies Gilbert H. Harman

Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah,

also University Center for Human Values John P. Burgess John M. Cooper

Adam Newman Elga Delia Graff Fara

Daniel Garber Hans Halvorson

Gilbert H. Harman Mark Johnston

Thomas P. Kelly Alexander Nehamas, also Council of the Humanities, Comparative

Literature Gideon A. Rosen Michael A. Smith

Visiting Professor John Hawthorne

Associate Professor Elizabeth Harman, also University Center for Human Values

Desmond Hogan Hendrik Lorenz

Benjamin C. A. Morison Assistant Professor

Shamik Dasgupta Boris C. Kment Sarah-Jane Leslie Sarah E. McGrath

Lecturer with Rank of Professor Frank C. Jackson

Lecturer Daniel Cloud

Victoria McGeer

faCuLty

Associate Professor Elizabeth Harman,

also University Center for Human Values Desmond Hogan

Assistant Professor Shamik Dasgupta Johann D. Frick,

also University Center for Human Values Boris C. Kment

Sarah E. McGrath

Visiting Professor Cheshire Calhoun

Visiting Assistant Professor Sari Kisilevsky

Lecturer with Rank of Professor Frank C. Jackson

Lecturer Victoria McGeer

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

Nicolas Apter-Vidler

In my thesis I treat the notion of immersion as a problem for the aesthetics of art: that is, as a new kind of perspectivism, a medium-specific mode of perceptual, kinetic experience and form of subjectivity.

Matthew Brailas

In my thesis I define punishment as primarily a communicative and expressive act, by which society communicates its condemnation to the criminal, and expresses its value system in law. I also defend the usefulness of punishment as a communicative vehicle for those messages.

Claire Branch

Moral supervenience states that no two entities can share all their natural properties without possessing the same moral properties. I argue that non-reductive naturalists cannot explain the truth of moral supervenience. Given the importance of moral supervenience for any functioning ethical system, this is a reason to reject non-reductive naturalism.

Katrina Bushko

In addition to a three-chapter translation from Arabic to English, this thesis shows how al-Madīna al-Fad․ila—a major work of political philosophy by Arab philosopher al-Fārābī—is influenced by Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s De Anima and Nicomachean Ethics in terms of the excellent city, its ruler, and his education.

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

A. Nimet Cebeci

This paper examines the nature of the discourse on the soul in Islamic philosophy. Using the scholarship of Imam abu Hamid al-Ghazālī as a case study, it argues that the discourse is primarily ethical, not metaphysical. Thus, it is fundamentally different from an analogous discourse within modern Materialist theory.

Joe Cloud

‘Utopia’ was coined after Sir Thomas More’s 1516 Utopia and has become a household term in contemporary culture, but what do we make of this work? Was it intended to be a socio-political treatise depicting the best state of the commonwealth or a literary satire of the Lucian tradition?

Joseph DeQuinzio

This thesis traces the development of the concept of political liberty from ancient republicanism to modern liberalism. I confine my investigation mainly to the Anglophone tradition and focus on major theorizers and critical moments of transformation. I conclude, on the basis of historical analysis, that the liberal conception is somewhat impoverished.

Sophia Deng

With the lack of incentives to act well on the Internet, how is it possible to maintain conversational civility and productivity in this new social landscape? Internet architects, who are in the best position to produce order, must learn how sacrifice and trust function in conversations to address this question.

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

Amy Ellington

In my thesis I compare Plato’s criticisms of poetry in Book X of the Republic to twentieth century criticisms of mass media and film, and argue that such different media have attracted similar objections because of their perceived inability to convey anything more substantial than surface appearances.

Shiyao Gu

The philosophy of knowledge is not only a subject studied extensively by modern philosophers, but also the focus of work by philosophers in Ancient Greece, such as Plato. In my thesis, I use Plato’s works, such as Republic and Meno, to present how Plato understands knowledge in his middle-period philosophy.

David Hammer

My thesis is about metaphysical realism regarding “structure.” I examine the reasons one might posit “structure,” and I argue that there is a severe obstacle for the project of reading “structure” off of a successful theory. In so doing, I sketch an account of theoretical equivalence.

Laura Hildebrand

Caspar Hare’s concept of de dicto future people, in combination with a principle of wrongness based on expected harm, explains the wrongness of knowingly producing a child with a moderate quality of life over a child with a high quality of life, thus solving the non-identity problem in same-number cases.

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

Ben Jubas

In his book Being Realistic About Reasons, T.M. Scanlon argues for a form of normative realism known as “reasons fundamentalism.” I attack the integrity of the domain-dependent metaphysics he adopts to support this view, and argue that a sufficiently sophisticated form of expressivism might be preferable to reasons fundamentalism.

Jun Kuromiya

This thesis examines Kant’s theory of infinity in the context of his epistemological doctrines in the Critique of Pure Reason. Drawing from both his early and mature work, it demonstrates how his concern for infinity is a motivating force behind the highly intricate transcendental deduction of the mind. In so doing, it reveals some of the theological and cosmological implications of the Deduction, of which Kant was highly cognizant. This thesis also challenges major readings of Kant’s epistemology that seek in some way to combine the understanding and sensibility, Kant’s two faculties of the mind. Kant elucidates certain qualities of sensibility in order for it to contain progressively infinite intuitions. Using Kant’s discussion of the intuition of inner sense, this thesis argues that these qualities of sensibility necessitate a complete separation from the understanding. The examination of Kant’s theory of infinity will therefore attempt to resituate his critical epistemology in his theological and cosmological concerns, with important consequences for how various sections of the Critique should be read.

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

Mandavilli Suchita

In Aristotelian ethics and politics, justice and friendship are not only necessary for the good life, but are also instrumental to the stability of a state. Friendship can serve a valuable function, even in the modern state; it can provide a stronger sense of solidarity and a better life for citizens.

Horace Phillips McNeal III

My senior thesis offers a new interpretation of the epistemology developed by Plato in his Meno and Phaedo. In the essay, I argue that Plato’s use of the Greek word epistêmê—a term which has long been interpreted as ‘knowledge”—in fact refers to a cognitive state far more powerful than that of knowledge.

Connor Mui

Philosophers in the republican tradition hold that freedom is boundedly probabilistic. This thesis explores alternate conceptions of freedom’s relationship to probability and counterfactual worlds and each one’s normative value. Ultimately a purely probabilistic account of freedom is more universally valuable – and the republican account more limited – than republicans suggest.

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

Ryan Poladian

The intersection of intangible human ingenuity and the material world complicates owning and interpreting intellectual property. By exploring Lockean, Utilitarian, Kantian, and Hegelian theory, I argue Hegel’s view of property supplements Western ideas of ownership and navigates ‘information-age’ shifts from tangible to intangible objects.

Daisy Radevsky

My thesis is in two-parts. The first part is Ethan and Arthur, a short story about a father and a son grappling with the psychological consequences of their nihilism. The second part is an analysis of the implications of accepting nihilism on the value of a human life.

Jonathan Schwartz

Could software ever be considered alive? This is a question that has received far too little philosophical or scientific scrutiny. The claim that appropriately designed machine code is living—and not in a metaphorical sense but in the literal sense used in biology—is known as the thesis of strong artificial life. In contrast, the thesis of weak artificial life takes the stance that such software can amount to nothing more than simulations of life itself. This paper aims to develop an acceptable theory and ontology of living things and, against these, tests the viability of strong artificial life.

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

Thomas J Sedeski

This thesis serves as a counterargument to Derek Parfit’s seminal work in the study of Personal Identity. Parfit claims that if reductionism is the correct ontological view of persons then we cannot give a philosophical defense of our commonsense concern for personal identity over time. He concludes, identity does not matter.

Max Harris Siegel

In this thesis, I undertake a linguistic analysis of the truth conditions for ‘ought’-claims and present a challenge to the objectivity of ethics that follows from this analysis. Specifically, I argue that one who holds ethics to be objective cannot account for the determinate truth or falsity of ‘ought’-claims.

Ben Taub

The thesis is a journalistic and philosophical account of strange events in a dusty, cinderblock town on the Turkish-Syrian border during the summer of 2013. Philosophical analysis focuses on rescue in high-risk scenarios and value in human interactions outside of friendship.

S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S S E N I O R T H E S I S A B S T R A C T S

Guo, Danny Some people believe that morality is a product of logical reasoning. The concept of evolution, how-ever, presents an alternative explanation for the exis-tence and content of our moral intuitions. I argue that this explanation should lead us to be more cau-tious when evaluating moral situations. Larson, Evan My thesis rejects utilitarian rationing, as well as de-ontological approaches to rationing. Instead, my the-sis endorses a new normative principle for allocating scarce resources: meaningful consequentialism with fairness. Meaningful consequentialism with fairness maximizes meaningful lives and takes into account concerns about fairness. I consider rationing cases to defend my view. Massa, Luke My thesis expanded on the work of Charles Taylor and K. Anthony Appiah on the role that social iden-tities (e.g. identities based on gender or race ) play in making an authentic life, by arguing for the existence of a "language identity," as something that could it-self mediate social interactions.

Jacob Tempchin

In my thesis, I investigate how we are able to do what we think we ought to do. I use results from neuroscience to support the view that an agent will most likely perform whichever prospective action is most salient in her mind’s eye. Ultimately, I weigh the merits of two distinct techniques for bringing one’s actions in line with her beliefs about what would be best for her to do.

Evan Thompson

I argue that playing games can help us lead fulfilling lives. The paper investigates the connection between emotion and reason, and how playing games gives us a unique opportunity to improve our rational capacity.

Mark Watter

Wittgenstein’s Culture and Value contains a number of puzzling comments on Shakespeare. Using these comments as a jumping-off point, I explore the later Wittgenstein’s theory of language-games and its relation to theatre and the creation of art. I suggest that each individual play can be viewed as a unique language-game.

David Zheng

I provide a critique of Discourse Representation Theory, a formalism that works at the intersection of model theoretic semantics and generative syntactic theory. In doing so, I aim to provide a more general critique of formal semantics and provide some alternative approaches towards a psychologically robust account of language.